Universal joint.



H. W. SNEDEN. UNIVERSAL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. s. 1913.

1,1 29,UQ5., Patented Feb. 16, 1915.

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hpeciflcation or Letters Patent.

Patented lFeh. Ml, lltllldi a peasement Decemher a, rare. ticrial no. sonata.

T all wkomc't may concern Be it blown that l, HERMAN W. SNEDEN, a citizen of the Unimd States, residing at Button, in the county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Universal Joints, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in universal joints, and its ob ects are: first, to provide a means whereby a shaft may he driven with equal emciency regardless of the angle it may he made to assume with the driving shaft, within the scope of angle designed; second, to provide a means whereby an oscillating shaft may he made to continue to oscillate while bein volve, without varying the e ciency of the driving mechanism, and, third, to provide an oscillating shaft wherewith all dust and grit may he shut outof the working mechanism of the shaft. ll attain these objects hy the mechanism illustrated in the accompanying drawing, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of the "inclosing case; of my device showing the relative positions of the several arts and the pivotal bolts. Fig. 2 is an en view of the driving, and driven elements in my invention. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal section ofthe driven shaft case, shown practically on the line X X of Fig. 1. Fig.4 is a sectional view of the driving element of my device on the line y y of Fig. 2. Figs 5 is an edge elevation of the driven element of my invention; and Fig. 6 is a longitudinal section of the same showing a modified form of guard and driving mechanism.

Similar figures of reference refer to similar parts throughout the several views.

lln the accompanying drawings 1 repre-' sents the casing that covers and supports the driving shaft l2.

2 represents an ordinary automobile huh,

placed inl ig. l for the purpose of illustrating how this movement may be adapted to use for transmitting power and motion to the front wheels of an automobile, as one of the many uses to which it may he applied.

3 represents the driven shaft. llf desired collars it may he formed on these shafts for the purpose of utilizing halls to for facilimade to rearms 13 on the casing l, and heavy huhs 18 on the cup 10, which cup is made integral with the casing ll, as indicated in Fig. 1, the said arms and hearings being so located that pivotal holts 8 may he applied upon which the oscillating movement of the driven shaft 3 may he made positive and uniform, said pivotal line heing exactly through the diametrical and longitudinal center of the dish 4 so that the pivotal line will always he exactly central with the line of travel of the lugs t3 inthe cup 5.

17 represents a collar that may he holted or otherwise secured to the end of the huh 18 for the purpose; of forming a dust proof hearing to extend farther over the surface of the cup 5, which latter is made to fit so closely upon the inner surface of the cup 10 audits extension that while the cup lfl'may he made to move perfectly freely over it to provide for the oscillating movement of the shaft 3, it will be impossihle for dust or grit to pass through between them and be deposited on the ln s 6 and 7.

lit will he noted t at the cup 5 or the disk tare neither of them in any way connected with the pivotal structure, hut are left perfectly free to revolve or to provide the rotary movement of the shafts, and to insure a perfectly free and ed'ective oscillating movement the ends or surfaces of the lugs ti and 'l, and also the surface of the disk and the hearing in the cup 5 must be convex and concave upon the radius of the disk t and its lugs 7, as indicated at 7 on Fig. 5;

and the etic'iency of the movement may he greatly increased hy mounting the lugs ti and l to revolve freely on very strong studs, as 19 in Figs. 4 and 5, though they worlr to perfect satisfaction if made integral with the supporting elements, that is, the cup 5 and the dish Al, hut there is, of course much more friction when the lugs are losing lid dra wn' sluewise over each other, when "the shafts are revolving in the relative positions indicated by the solid lines 1, l3 and the dotted lines 20, in Fig. 3, hence much more wear at given points on the lugs than is the ease with the lugs made to revolve uponthe studs 19. It is necessary that these lugs be made round, or practically round so as to insure perfect contact between them no matter 'What'line in the radius of oscillation the oscillating shaft may assume 01' be car ried to. I

In Fig. l I have shown my simple form of construction in which the driving lugs 6, 6 are madeintegral with, or are mounted on the dust guard 5, which in turn is mounted on the shaft 12 and made to revolve freely inside of the case 1, while in Fig. 6 I have shown the more complicated form in which the guard 5 is made fast to the case 1 and an extra element or cup, 21, is secured to the shaft 12 and to which the lugs 6 are made integral or properly attached. By this means I am able to make the dust guard independent of the driving lugs, thus securing a much'more safe and desirable construction, though much more expensive of construction, though the operation of the driving and driven elements is the same in both instances, the gist of the invention 1ying wholly in the peculiar means of transmitting a revoluble motion from a driving shaft to an oscillating shaft.

What 1 claim-as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United- States,

1. In a. universal joint, an outer cup shaped case,

an inner cupshaped case, said cases pivotally connectedto form a globular dust tight chamber, a shaft having one end revolubly connected with one of said cases, a laterally disposed ring mounted on the end of said shaft inside of its case, lugs extending inwardly from the inner surface of said ring, antifriction rollersmonnted-in said lugs, a shaft revolubly mounted on the other of said cases, a laterally disposed disk mounted on the end of said shaft withinits cup shaped case, lugs-extending outwardly from the periphery of said disk, antifric tion rollers mounted on said-lugs in position to exactly mesh with, andtravel onthe peripheries of the antifriction rollers in the ring.

'2. In a universal joint, two shafts normally in alinement, means for ,pivotally connecting the adjacent ends of said-shafts, a laterally disposed ring secured to theend of one of said shafts, a laterally disposed disk secured to the-adjacent end of the other of said shafts with the axial centers of said ring anddisk in direct alinement with the pivotal'connection between the shafts, lugs projecting from the inner periphery of .the ring, lugs projecting from the periphery of the disk, and antifriction rollers mounted on said lugs to intermesh ,to transmit motion from one of said shafts to the other with the shafts at various angles with each other.

Signed at Grand Rapids, Michigan, November 29, 1913.

HERMAN W. SNEDEN.

In presence of- I. J. CILLEY, G. E. CILLEY. 

